BetVictor World Matchplay Darts Experience

We arrived into Blackpool North train station on the morning of the Sunday 29th July ready for the World Matchplay final. The hotel was just short hop away and quickly dropped our bags and freshened up before a day out on the seafront.

Brimming with British tradition and nostalgic childhood memories, it’s difficult not to dip into each and every one of the promenade’s amusements. Time to add to the beer fund with some big wins on the two penny slots machines. Working your way down the front, you’ll soon arrive at the world-famous Blackpool Pleasure Beach. Ghost trains, dodgems and, of course, the Big One and Big Dipper! Be warned, these aren’t for the faint hearted.

For those wanting to tickle their vertigo once more, you can head back along the beach and up the town’s famous Blackpool Tower. At well over 100-metres tall, on a clear day you can see Liverpool, the Lake District and even the Isle of Man from the summit. At the top you’ll find a glass floor, will you dare to step out onto the tower’s SkyWalk?

With just a few hours until the darts we wandered back along the seafront, feeling the atmosphere building as we headed closer to the iconic Winter Gardens. Stopping in a nearby pub to eat and discuss some last-minute predictions. The consensus? Anderson’s walking this one. Ticket collection from the box office was a breeze and we’re straight into our grandstand seats. Inside the Winter Gardens you can feel the intensity of the crowd instantly, a thick hum of chattering darts fans feels like the calm before the storm and the anticipation is palpable. Soon the chants begin and the darts atmosphere we’ve all come to love and expect whips up – soon to be punctuated by the deep, powerful thud of the microphoned board pounding out into the crowd.

Time for the walk outs, the fan-lined gangway from the back of the room down towards the oche is the place to be at this point. This is the place to be for a final face-to-face vote of confidence for your hero as they strut into the fray under the huge stage lights. After a short few free throws to get their eye in, both Anderson and Suljovic were off and the crowd reached fever-pitch.

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